1008 Jethro Tull - 10.08 to Paddington

1008 Jethro Tull - 10.08 to Paddington

What a huge surprise: yet another Jethro Tull song on my blog. I noticed the number of the song pick today and just had to choose this one.
For those who are not acquainted with A Passion Play, it's a concept album and Rock Opera about life after death in which Ian Anderson wrote about the concept of what if you still had choices to make even after death in the Christian concept of the afterlife.
The story follows the death, afterlife, and rebirth of one Ronnie Pilgrim. For obvious reasons the album stirred up some controversy; while it did reach number 1 on the charts, it was scathed by critics and caused an apparent rift between the band and the media. What is truly awesome about this album is that, with how technically complex it is, was conceived, written, and recorded in 17 days out of the ashes of the Château d'Hérouville recording sessions.
In reality, I would not be as big of a 'Tull fan if it was not for this album. I would probably still like the band, just not on the level I do. I originally procured the album on a 15¢ 8-track tape; I used to have it going whilst I played my old computer and Super Nintendo games. It was kind of nice because, with the 8-track being a continuous loop, I could let it play for hours and not have to deal with it. It was also a very high quality cartridge, so worrying about it being eaten by the player was not an issue. The intricacies of the music and lyrics really got me into Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson's music; I have since bought every one of their albums. This album is the only one that I have on 8-track, vinyl record, CD, and digital copy formats.
Anyway, some who are familiar with this concept album would probably be wondering where exactly on the album this song resides. This album was essentially a rock opera consisting of about 45 minutes of continuous music with only an interlude in the middle: The Story of the Hare Who Lost His Spectacles, (which can be found here on YouTube). There are actually 16 individual tracks spread across 4 Acts; originally only DJs had pressings of the record with segmented tracks and a track listing. The complete track listings can be found here. This one is the 14th song on the album; it is a rather calm, acoustic interlude between the tracks The Flight From Lucifer and Magus Perdē.

Here is the studio version on YouTube; 10.08 to Paddington begins at the 4:00 mark.


My song pick a year ago today: Jethro Tull - Mayhem, Maybe
My song pick two years ago today: The Kinks - Dedicated Follower of Fashion

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